Hack 50 Make Changes to Running Auctions
Keep your auctions looking and performing their best with post-listing revisions.
We all misspell words from time to time, but where auction titles and descriptions are concerned, innocent typos can adversely affect sales. eBay allows you to modify your auctions once they've been started, but certain revisions may not be allowed, depending on when you submit them and whether the item has received any bids.
For example, eBay understandably doesn't let you change the description once someone has bid on your auction,[4] but you can add to the description. Any supplemental text and photos are placed at the end of the description, accompanied by a date and timestamp, making it clear to your bidders exactly what you added and when. Additionally, since eBay doesn't allow bidders to retract their bids within the last 12 hours of an auction (see [Hack #27]), further revisions normally available to sellers are prohibited during that time. Table 4-4 shows possible revisions to a running auction; a checkmark indicates when each revision is allowed.
[4] Note that canceling bids, as described in [Hack #54], will not restore your ability to make changes to the auction description.
|
Revision |
Before 1st bid |
After 1st bid |
Last 12 Hours |
Completed Items |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Bold |
|
|
| |
|
Buy-It-Now |
|
vehicles with a reserve price only |
only using second-chance offer | |
|
Calculated shipping |
|
change in invoice only | ||
|
Cancel bids |
|
| ||
|
Categories |
|
| ||
|
Counter |
|
|
| |
|
Description |
|
add to only |
add to only, unless it has also received a bid | |
|
Duration |
|
only by ending early |
only by ending early | |
|
End listing |
|
|
| |
|
Featured |
|
|
| |
|
Gallery |
|
|
| |
|
Gallery photo |
|
|
| |
|
Gift services |
|
|
| |
|
Highlight |
|
|
| |
|
Item location |
| |||
|
Listing format (auction vs. fixed-price) |
auctions only, using Buy-It-Now | |||
|
Payment details |
|
add to only |
change in invoice only | |
|
Payment instructions |
|
change in invoice only | ||
|
Pictures (if hosting on eBay) |
|
add to description only | ||
|
Pictures (if hosting yourself) |
|
|
|
|
|
Private auction |
| |||
|
Quantity |
| |||
|
Reserve price |
|
vehicles only, can be removed or lowered once |
vehicles only, use second-chance offer | |
|
Shipping details |
|
add to shipping destinations only |
change in invoice only | |
|
Starting price |
| |||
|
Title |
|
Most revisions can be made by clicking the
"Revise your item" link at
the top of the auction page, or by going to Site Map 
Revise my item and entering the auction number. There are a few
exceptions, such as "Fix my gallery
image," all of which appear in the
"Manage My Items for Sale" section
of the eBay site map.
If you find that a revision you need to make is prohibited by eBay
policy, your final resort is to go to Site Map End My
Listing, cancel all bids, end the auction early, and then relist the
item. eBay will refund your listing fees (minus any listing upgrade
fees) from the first auction if the relisted auction sells, so it
should ultimately cost you nothing but time.
There are ways to sneak around eBay's auction revision policies, of course, as long as you don't do anything egregious like changing what the auction is for after the high bidder has bid.
If you host your own photos, you can change them at any time, even after the auction has ended. All you need to do is make sure you don't change the photo filenames. See [Hack #59] for more information.
See [Hack #51] for ways to change your auction description when eBay won't otherwise allow you to do so.
Your About Me page is separate from your auctions and can be modified at any time, regardless of the status of your auctions. This makes it ideal for your payment and shipping terms, contact information, and details about your business; see [Hack #48] for more information.
